Inside The Bills

In late January, NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock listed Florida State DE Everette Brown as his second best defensive end in the class, but also put OLB in parentheses after his name and indicated he thought he was an OLB candidate in a 3-4 defense. Appearing on a conference call Wednesday, Mayock’s opinion on where Brown fits in a defense has changed considerably.

“I actually don’t think he’s a linebacker in a 3-4,” said Mayock of Brown. “I don’t think he’s got the length. He’s 6’1 1/2″. To me he’s a base 4-3 defensive end. Some teams are still looking at him as a 3-4 linebacker.”

I don’t know this, but my guess is Mayock was basing his initial opinion more on what he was hearing from his NFL team contacts, and as he said teams are still looking at him as a 3-4 OLB. But now after doing all of his own film work on most of the top 350 prospects (the guy is a workaholic) he has formulated more of his own opinion and sees him as a 4-3 end.

I’ve been a fan of Brown from day one as a fit for the Bills 4-3 system as an end. I think he’s strong enough to hold up. Now he may not be as good against the run as Orakpo or Ayers, but I think he can handle the role.

Now Mayock doesn’t see him as a top half of the first round pick (top 16).

“There was a lot of heat when he first came out of being a top 10 or 15 pick,” said Mayock. “That’s cooled off a little bit. I see him closer to a late one.”

I still think Brown is good enough to be a top 15 pick, but obviously there is a difference of opinion out there. We’ll see where he goes.